Column: Don't panic, prepare for the flu

You have a lot of time to think when you're flat on your back with the flu.

You vow never again to take simple things for granted - like two eyeballs that automatically focus on the same thing at the same time.

You wonder why people turn to the likes of Glenn Beck for advice about vaccinations when it's just as easy to point a web browser to the state Department of Public Health, or Centers for Disease Control.

You count your blessings: At least you're not a health worker battling misinformation about the virus and prevention. The only infection you're responsible for is your own.

The World Health Organization declared a global H1N1 pandemic in June. It now is reportedly widespread in 37 U.S. states - up from 27 states a week ago.

Hospitalizations are up; flu-related deaths are up. The CDC has confirmed 76 pediatric deaths from H1N1 since April, including 19 reported just last week.

In Iowa City, a quarter of City High School's feverish, aching student body was out sick this week. Some Typhoid Marys apparently didn't want to miss last weekend's Homecoming dance.

My own daughter came home from school Tuesday and spent the next three days in bed.

Just a day before, I had been talking with a mom who was tsk-tsking media sensationalism about H1N1. It's causing a panic, she said about news reports tracking the virus, reminding us to wash our hands.

Most years in this country, there are about 36,000 deaths related to seasonal flu. Health officials declare a pandemic when a new, easily transmitted strain emerges against which people have little or no immunity. Just as with any virus, some people will barely feel H1N1. Others will suffer. Some will die.

That doesn't mean we should panic. But it does mean we should listen to advice and stay home if we're sick. If we're not, we should pay attention to CDC recommendations for inoculating against the bug.

The first live virus vaccines against H1N1 arrived in Iowa last week. More are on the way.

Yet 60 percent of the people responding to a Friday KCRG-TV9 online poll said they wouldn't take the vaccine or give it to their kids. Comments on the site ranged from the misinformed to the downright conspiratorial.

I'm not saying you must get vaccinated when it's your turn. But if you don't, it should be for a real reason.

Skip the gossip and call your county health department, or check out the facts at www.flu.gov

And wash your hands.

Jennifer Hemmingsen's column appears on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Contact the writer at (319) 339-3154 or jennifer.hemmingsen@gazcomm.com